President Barack Obama holds a model used to show how polymers expand and learns how sand less sandbags that are the invention of Peyton Robertson, 12, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., work, while touring the 2014 White House Science Fair exhibits on display in the State Dining Room of the White House. Robertson designed a new kind of sandbag to protect against flooding from hurricanes and other disasters. President Obama was celebrating the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country

President Barack Obama holds up a model of a flu “bug” as he looks over the flu research display of Eric Chen, 18, of San Diego, California

President Barack Obama poses for a photo with Karen Fan, 17, and Felege Gebru, 18, both of Newton, Massachusetts.

President Barack Obama listens to Elana Simon of New York explain her project about cancer

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ABC News: President Obama Unleashes His ‘Inner Nerd’ At White House Science Fair

President Obama today shined the spotlight on 100 students from 30 states whose work in science, technology and engineering he says should inspire others to excel in the field. “As a society, we have to celebrate outstanding work by young people in science at least as much as we do Super Bowl winners,” he said. Obama said this year’s White House science fair put special emphasis on “amazing girls and young women” to encourage more to pursue careers in science. “I have a confession to make. When I was growing up my science fair projects were not as successful as those here,” Obama joked.

He said he killed a bunch of plants in one project; in another, he said mice escaped in his grandmother’s apartment. Obama also got an up close look at several of the exhibits. He tried on a “concussion helmet” designed by one young lady; chatted with three 6th graders about their “app” that helps disabled kids navigate from class to class at school; and viewed a robot designed by Natick, Mass., HS students that helps with icy water search and rescue. Obama tried and tested the robot, and the kids joked that he was now certified in ice rescue. “I love this event. This is one of my favorite things all year long,” Obama later told the crowd.

Science education went to the head of the class at the White House on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama announcing a $35 million competition for teacher training programs — and checking out an all-star lineup of science fair projects. “I love this event!” Obama told an audience of students, teachers and VIPs. “This is one of my favorite things all year long.” The president chatted with kids from more than two dozen science-fair teams as he made his way through the State Dining Room. “We’re so proud of you,” Obama told Elana Simon, an 18-year-old from New York who survived a bout with a rare liver cancer when she was 12 and developed a genetic database for patients with the same disease. “Can I just say, I did not do this at 12, 13, or 18. … This is just a sample of the kind of outstanding young talent that we’ve got.”

At one point, he lingered to play catch with a catapult that was built by a group of Massachusetts teens to study basketball shooting technique. “Last time I was here, there was a guy shooting marshmallows … that thing went fast!” Obama said, recalling a science-fair demonstration that went viral in 2012. The president looked up at the ceiling and joked, “That marshmallow might still be there.” Among this year’s announcements was the latest twist in Obama’s “Educate to Innovate” campaign to spark interest in science careers: an additional $35 million in grants, to be awarded competitively to programs that provide preparation and training for STEM teachers. Other newly announced initiatives included: Expansion of the STEM AmeriCorps program, which was launched at last year’s White House Science Fair, to provide learning opportunities for 18,000 low-income students this summer.

Obama: "We’re putting a special focus on all the inspiring girls and young women who are excelling in science." http://t.co/1lCofhloV4

New mentoring programs in seven cities, supported by the public-private US2020 effort. The cities include Allentown, Pennsylvania; Chicago; Indianapolis; North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Wichita, Kansas. A nationwide campaign called “Aprender es Triunfar,” aimed at inspiring Latino STEM students. A centerpiece of the campaign, launched by NBC Universal’s Hispanic Enterprises and Content, is a new documentary film titled “Underwater Dreams.” A grant from Esri to make its cloud-based advanced mapping software available for free to more than 100,000 elementary, middle and high schools as part of the White House’s ConnectED Initiative. A series of interactive online lessons to help more students learn the math and science behind going to Mars, presented by Khan Academy and NASA.